


When the Voices Call, Do as They Say

by LadyFancy69



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Batfamily, Best Friend Forever, Broken Families, F/F, Friendship, M/M, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Multi, Physical Abuse, RHATO 25, Roy is Jason's Bff, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Teen Pregnancy, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2019-11-07 21:03:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17968004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyFancy69/pseuds/LadyFancy69
Summary: The beating Batman gave to Red Hood had more consequences than Jason ever knew. Suffering a miscarriage with a baby he never knew he was carrying, he despicably turns to the voices that linger in his mind for help.Work in progress.





	1. The Consequences of Your Vice

**Author's Note:**

> I started thinking about RHATO #25, and this idea popped into my head. What if Jason was pregnant and he never even knew it. He's 17 years old around this story sooo theirs that. I started writing this on February 24, but got motivated into finishing this because of scandalsavege. Who I would like to thank for writing me that amazing fanfic about Jay and Ra's getting married for the prompt-a-thon. I would like to let everyone know that I tried my best when writing this, so please don't be mean about the errors.

     It was a mistake, that's all he could and would be able to say at the moment. No one to blame but himself and maybe Batman. Him for his stupidity and lack of care and Batman, for the punches to his gut.

  
     His stomach was twisting and hurting, a new pain he had never felt before. And god he wished he would never, ever, feel it again. It didn’t help that he already felt like one giant bruise. His muscle tensed, and every time they did, it put a strain on his fractured ribs. His head was pounding, too much blood swirling around and making Jason suck in his breath.

  
     The afternoon sun was high in the sky, the heat pouring in through the rickety window, and making the room feel too hot. The bed creaked as his hands tensed and griped the bead sheets tighter. The dry hot air did nothing but hinder his well-being, and made his pain unbearable.

  
      The teen struggles, his mind a one only focusing on the pain. He doesn't notice, the sun getting lower on the horizon, or the cool air swiping in thought the cracked windows that barely cool his body. By the time the contractions stop, there's black spots in his vision and he happily gives in to the darkness.

  
     Dreaming has never given Red Hood any pleasure, there always filled with distant laughter that he could never place. Sometimes it was gentle, like a kind laughter of a woman, or a hearty laugh from an older man. They seemed to haunt him...the noises.

  
      They were comforting to him, like a warm blanket on a cold day, like hot chocolate right after a hard day of patrolling with Batman. Like better times that where lost to the wind, scattered throughout the land never to be seen again. Leaving him with an all consuming loneliness in the pit of stomach. A haunting feeling that left him cold to the bone, left him feeling like he forgot something important.

  
      Then there was the hard, cold laughter of the insane man who drove him to wake up sweating and screaming silently in the middle of the night.

  
      This dream was different, it was not filled with warm hugs from the gentle voices of a lost past, or the painful beating of cold harsh metal imprinting on his skin.

  
     This dream, was of hot hands holding him down, his back straining, his body thrumming with pleasure and a cock filling him. The man fucking into him dominated him like no other had, or will have. Jason remembers, the consuming pleasure, the way he felt like when the much bigger man took control of him. The way he struggled to fight, and in the end he decided give his control up.

  
      It was glorious, it felts exhilarating, and most of all, that man kept his word and brought him to orgasm. It made Jason forget the feelings of disappointment that his family had shoved upon him. The reason he dragged himself to a sleazy bar, on Gotham’s neighboring city, Bludhaven. The reason why he drank and let his mind cloud, impairing his judgement and making him forget. Making him forget that he ran out of birth control sometime ago.

  
      So out and about he went, looking for something that not even he knew. In the end he had found it, his body twisted with pleasure in the end of his second orgasm. He could barely remember the other man, but he knew it happened. And then he remembered the reason for his pain and woke up.

  
~~

  
      The wind has gone form a cool breeze that he had not registered to, a chilly one that cooled down Red’s overheated body. Wetness covered the legs and the bedding, leaving a slimy feeling all over his body and along the sheets.

  
      Green eyes widen as they get a look at the dripping mess between his legs. There a body was laying between his strong thighs. A small delicate, unmoving body, reminding him of the pills he ran out of and the consequences of slept with a nameless man.

  
     His stifling body now feel like ice was coursing through his vines and the realization hit him harder than Batman's hits from the day before. Jason could not for the life of him breath, the pain from his fractured ribs aren't helping.

  
     That's when the voices he so loathes started rising in volume, they were quite, only a soft white noise in the background. Only ever appearing when stressed out or in danger of being killed. Nothing good ever came when it rose in volume, only bad things happen. Like the beating his fath..no, Jason could not think of him like that anymore. He was at the level of William Todd, and with his miscarriage now he was at the top of the list along with Joker, and Sheila Haywood.

  
     The cricket chirping, the howls of dogs or coyotes where drowned out by the voices. The Voices always left him scared, like how he felt as a little boy when he first heard them. Yet, they were never that bad, not when his disoriented body climbed out of the Lazarus pit, or the previous day when Batman beat the ever-loving shit out of him.

  
     For once, maybe out of desperation, since it was always helpful when he was in a pinch, Jason decided to listen to them. He hoped It could save his dead baby. Because if it didn’t.. Jason couldn't bare the alternative.

  
```  
     A blue moon light up the sky as the gravel crackled under the weight of a two trucks. A disheveled woman stepped out of the beat up truck, followed by a ginger man who ran to the house.

  
     The door crashed into the wall, causing the dry wall to fall in places. “Jason, I'm sorry I took so long. I was out trying to find a doctor for you....” Roy trailed off the instance his eyes landed on the baby covered in bodily fluids. The body being cradled in his best friends arm.

  
     “Look Roy she’s got my red hair.” Jason could barely look up to see the shocked faces of Roy and the older woman coming inside the house. Her kit landing on the floor, moving the dust bunnies around.

  
     When he finally did look up, Jason’s eyes looked abnormally green. “Her name’s Martha, like her grandmother.”

  
     The baby started screaming, burrowing further into the warm body of her father. Away from the chilly breeze coming in through the open door, and letting the moon’s light in.


	2. Dead Man Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By the end of the night, the FBI was involved and a new case was being formed for the abandoning and kidnapping of the boy who claimed to be Jason Peter Wayne. Son of Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, a young boy that was left on foreign soil when he was fourteen years old. A storm was brewing and it was only gaining power as the days past, soon the world would know who Jason was all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a while to write this, and to check for mistakes. Im not the best at grammar, but i did my best. I changed some things so the story could be better. Jason was 14 when he died, and when he was adopted his last name changed. This happend because he wanted to carry Bruce's last name and not his abusive father. Its a bit sad now, becuase he caries a reminder of the man who killed his baby. A lot of this are different, this jason is much younger, i was doing the math, and was like jason got pregos at 16, then 8 months baby was born, he is 17. In like a month he will be 18. In this universe men can get pregnant. Not that many, but it is common enough that no one bats an eye at him. People will just be concerned because male pregnancies carry a higher mortality rate and are harder on the body.  
> I will explain about the voices and shadows later in some chapters, and who the father is. He is a DC character, and all of you will be surprised. You can all guess, but im not telling until it becomes relevant to the plot. I will also be changing the tags to better fit this story. Happy reading! Thanks to all of you who commented. :-)

June 06, Same Day as Birth

     A blue moon light up the sky as the gravel crackled under the weight of a two trucks. A disheveled woman stepped out of the beat up truck, followed by a ginger man who ran to the house.

     The door crashed into the wall, causing the dry wall to fall in places. “Jason, I'm sorry I took so long. I was out trying to find a doctor for you....” Roy trailed off the instance his eyes landed on the baby covered in bodily fluids. The body being cradled in his best friends arm.

“Look Roy she’s got my red hair.” Jason could barely look up to see the shocked faces of Roy and the older woman coming inside the house. Her kit landing on the floor, moving the dust bunnies around.

     When he finally did look up, Jason’s eyes looked abnormally green. “Her name’s Martha, like her grandmother.”  
The baby started screaming, burrowing further into the warm body of her father. Away from the chilly breeze coming in through the open door, and letting the moon’s light in.  
~~~  
     Dr. Xipil Rodrigo was a wise woman who at the age of twenty had her first daughter, so many years ago in Mexico. Her only child, with a man she held no loved for. Now looking at the bruised up body of a young man in an abandoned house; she concluded that he was not twenty yet. Too young to be having a child at his age, and too scarred and bruised for anything good to come from this mess.

     Picking up her jaw from the floor, she squared her shoulders and proceed to take in the scenario in front of her. The boy’s face was bruised, with deep gashes that bleed and had coagulated. Leaving dried blood to start flaking off. His breathing was off, it sounded harsh as if not enough oxygen was coming in to his lunges. The hand print on his throat might be the cause, but so could the deep colorful bruises on the chest. Fractured ribs could be a possibility. However, there was a more pressing matter at hand. The major concern at the moment was the baby squirming in the teen’s arms. Its body red from the temperature and it’s screaming.

     She ignored her shocking sight, letting her persona as a doctor take over. “How many hours ago was she born? How long was the gestation period for you?” Xipil asked the teen, but he had already spaced off. His bright green eyes kept staring to the darkest corner on the room, where shadows moved. Xipil followed his sight and promptly decided to get out now or as soon as humanly possible. The back of her neck tingles and goosebumps started to form on her arms.

     The mind tends to forget things that it doesn’t want to remember, like a one night stand that was caused by having a horrible week. However, in Jason’s case he wanted to just forget his whole stinking life. Succeeding momentary, but only to wake up alone in a strange place, and losing his virginity to a stranger. Jason too drunk to remember what happened probably or even vaguely. He tried to remember, but his brain wouldn't work properly. It was too foggy and Jason swore the the shadows in the corner where moving, calling to him. Finally, after some time were he struggled thought his hazy memories it came to him. Eight months, around eight months.

     “I think shes 35 weeks along.” Rodriguez heard the uncertainty in his voice, the way his body tensed before continuing. “Yes a little over eight months,” he said with more confidence.

     “Let me see her, I’ll only be for a second darling. I gotta look her over.” Xipil did not like the situation one bit. Not when a white man came knocking on her house begging for a doctor to come with him. Asking her to come check up on his friend. His accent wasn’t from around here, and the only strangers that came around these places were drug addicts. He didn’t have the southern drawl that the white folks had, or the accented way the hispanic population carried around.

     Initially, Dr. Rodriguez was going to refuse, she was semi-retired and her partner worried about the crazed man covered in blood. The blood on him was the only reason she followed him to the outskirts of the town, even when she wanted to stop and head back home. Down to the old abandoned house, that had only ever seen tragedy. Two years ago a pair of teens from the local high school had overdosed. Died in the early morning, found later that day by police officers.

     Staring at the baby girl in her arms, she looked so small, a premature baby with a strong kicking and scream. She looked healthy enough, her lungs were clear indicating no immediate complications with her respiratory system. Xipil should have let Miraya come with her for the house visit. Miraya had more experience looking at babies, she was a certified midwife that helped women and men.

     Letting out a sighed, the doctor gave her back to Jason. Or at least she thought that was his name, couldn't quite catch it when she came in, to distracted by the scene he presented.

     “Can you get up sweetheart? I need you out of this building now, this houses been abandoned since the early twentieth century. God knows what mold and critters are crawling here.” She looks around and finds discarded needles lying around, coming from drifters and the local drug users from town. This was not a place to give birth or treat a patient in his condition. By the looks of it, they too saw the revolting condition of the collapsing house.

 “We need to get you and your daughter to the hospital. She needs urgent care, premature babies have many complications. And you boy, you need to be seen by a specialist. God only knows how you're still conscious.”

     Roy new Jason hated hospitals, and sometimes even doctors. Jay never told him why, only casually mentioning needles and corrupt physicians.

  
     The good doctor lead the way through the wooded area, into town. They passed pine trees that cast shadows miles on end. Every time he looked away from the scenery, the teen saw movement in the corner of his eyes. A feeling of dread passed over him, scaring him the very bone. This only caused him to hug his baby harder. Exhaling sharply, Jason swore never to think or talk about what happened in that house. Nothing good would come from that, not with those shadow figures following.

     Jason was quiet through the whole ride, staring straight out into the dark . Only indicating his pained by the noise he made every time the car drove over potholes and uneven areas. He also must put up a fight when the nurses from the hospital took his daughter away to be examined. He and Roy where led into a room in the pediatric section. Jason almost blacked out when he was forced to move, the pain was excruciating and caused black spots.

     Dr. Rodriguez lingered by as the nurses and doctors rushed in to examine Jason. They left him with an air mask to make breathing easier. The hours stretched by, the sun started rising indicating that she should leave and go home to her wife. Sweeping her gray hair out of her face she wrote down her phone number and Miraya’s number down.  
Jason startled out of his trance when Xipil called out to him. “Here.” She handed Jason a the torn page from her pocket notebook. Her brown eyes started into his green eyes, trying to put all her honesty and caring into them.

 “Call me when you get out boy. Call me if you need anything. That includes if you need baby supplies, information on how to handle her, or when you're overwhelmed by your new responsibility. I have to go now. But don’t hesitate to call me, my wife's number is on there too. She’s a certified midwife, a little too late for you to call her, but she’s better with babies than me.”

     A warm hand put the paper between his and gave it a squeeze. “I mean it, call me or my wife. My names Xipil Rodriguez and my wife's Miraya Cortes.”  
Jason was left speechless, to numb to understand fully what Rodriguez ment. She only left after getting a promise from him to call after getting out of hospital.

“Wow, look at that, one of my decisions was actually a good one.” Roy’s voice interrupted the silence.

“Yeah. You really did this time Harper. Didn’t even question us.”

     The conversation was cut short from the knock on the door. Two nurse came in, their manner was hesitant but determined, the man called Roy out to finish some paperwork. The woman stayed behind, her hands holding a stack of paper. It was the head nurse, the one looking after him for the remainder of her shift.

“Mister Wayne, the police is going to question you about the wounds you’ve sustained. Right now there caught up with a car pile up, but a few officers will get yo ur statement soon.”

     Jason’s heart dropped, he now had a sinking feeling of why they called Roy out. “Your boyfriend, did he hur …” Her body language said all he needed, he interrupted before she could continue.

“It’s not what you think Miss. Gina! Roy never hurt me. He’s the one who came and rescued me. Don’t blame him, it was my father.” The teen quickly said, shutting down the question before it could progress. In that moment he sounded like the teenager he was, not a wanted criminal or anti-hero. To people he was the former and not the latter, but those people didn’t have the balls to kill the bad guys.

     Jason wasn’t gonna let misunderstanding happen. Roy was a good friend for accusations to fly his way.

     He must have calmed her down, because Gina handed him a birth certificate application. “That’s great sugar. Got me relieved, you get to see a thing or two around here in the hospital. Boys like you have the misfortune of being targeted. Just had to make sure your friend wasn't hurting you. We needed him out of the room to conform. I’ve got the application for the your little girl here.”

“The doctor is concerned about your right eye socket, and the bruising on your ribs. He has scheduled you for an MRI for tomorrow morning, there going to check your eye and your ribs for any fractures or bone fragments. Right now, you can’t feel anything because of how much adrenaline coursing through your system. Currently you’re on morphine, and some other fluids so you don’t get dehydrated. This is the only thing currently holding the pain the way. When the adrenaline completely wears off you will be in a lot of pain. Having a child and getting beat up will cause this. Call me if your in extreme pain.”

     Jason was surprised with the information that he was being bombarded with. He never really had surgery at a regular hospital. Or been to a hospital that often to know what to do. Not when he broke his arm as a kid, or when one of his mom’s used needles accidentally penetrated his skin. The only real experience was when Bruce took him to get vaccinated, or with his nutritionist as a kid. Dr. Leslie Thompkins only saw him when he was critically injured or unconscious after a stint.

“Now the doctor will come and explain things, but if you do get surgery it's going to be after the swelling has gone done. Usually it takes seven to ten days for the swelling to go down.”

     Jason hadn’t thought about his condition in depth, all of his worry and anxiety currently surrounded Martha. Where was she?

“How long will me and my daughter have to be here? Is she OK?” Jason didn’t what to stick around here much longer, hospitals weren't his thing.

     The nurse saw his distress for his baby and took it upon herself to calm him. Gina moved out of the way to make room for Roy when he entered the room.

“As for your baby, well were just concerned for her well being. Being a premature baby can have some problems, but her score was relatively OK for one in her condition. You see, she scored a five on her APGAR exam. It’s only moderately low, or in this case in the middle, so that is not too bad for a late preterm baby. We expect at most a couple of weeks in the hospital at the neonatal intensive care unit. She's going to need to be checked out, more often than a normal baby, but right now shes OK.”

     Jason nodded, he didn’t know anything about APGAR but Gina reassured him Martha would improve. At the moment, she was in a stable condition. She was a strong baby, and she would be brought to him room. Roy slightly slipped his hand into his as a reassurance.

“Have a good day.” She left them to stow in their thoughts. The tide was changing and problems were being brought to light. Jason dreaded the upcoming battle that was on the horizon.

“Roy, the police are coming to question me of the injuries. I can’t bail on them, not until Martha comes out of the intensive care unit. And that is gonna take a few weeks, I have trouble getting up, and walking to the restroom. How am I gonna avoid them in my condition.”

      Roy for all the lip he gave was quiet, that in itself was unnerving. He grasped the gravity of the situation that his friend was in. The archer was still in disbelief of the state at hand. Batman almost half-killing his son, was a hard thing to grasp. His friend having a baby was downright concerning. Jason really didn’t like to be touched, like at all. Jay was seventeen, too young to be drinking, but he doubted that would stop him in doing what he wanted.

     God, they needed to talk about what happened at that house. Roy only left for a few hours, too long in his opinion, and ended up with another person to worry about. He could feel his stress level rising. Shit, he dreaded the nappy changes that where coming his way. Roy didn’t have the experience necessary to do that, he missed out on that part with Lian.

“We’ll think about it Jay. It’s easy. We can just come up with a story about how some guys jumped you.”

     The teen was in deep thought his mind trying to come up with the best cover story. Everything had changed in just a few hours. Everything in life was unfair, and everything was moving so fast to properly grasp. It was a good thing he had experience with that.

     Right away the teen could already see a few problems that where going to happen. And coming up with a story for this was to hard to do in such a short time. His eyes closed, a sighed escaped him. He already knew what was going to happen. The whispers had already began to increase in volume in his head. It already knew of the best outcome for his little family, and it never had a habit of being wrong. Not for the many years he kept hearing them.

     But Jason was tired of being dead, having to use fake names, fake social securities, his identity was up in the air. An intangible identity that was not his to grasp for the taking. Something that left him reeling at the unfairness, for he could not claim something that belonged to him. For his daughter, a dead man would rise from the dead, in order to claim her as his own.

     There would be questions, he knew that. He was supposed to be rotting underground with the maggots. All types of critters feeding on his flesh, Jason couldn't help but shutter at the thought. His arms itched, he could already feel the insects crawling around in his body. It always left him sick when his mind drifted to thoughts of his resurrection.

     Jason let go of the hand, replacing it with Harper's stupid flannel shirt. Pulling hard to get the older man's attention. It started Roy out of his half slumbering state on the chair next to him. The boy was thinking for too long, and the ginger had let his eyes rest for too long.

“What Jaybird?” His voice was groggy.

“Roy, I want Jason Peter Todd to be alive again. I want the world to know I am alive and kicking.” That seemed to wake Arsenal up. It seemed coffee was unnecessary at this point with all the adrenaline stirring in his veins.

“Jay your dead. They will check up on your grave and find it empty.”

“That's the point Roy, I want people to know who I am, that i’m alive. I want the world to know. Let them make their assumptions, on how or why or when this happened. It's not the first time someone from an influential family all of a sudden turned up again. Remember your mentor, Roy. Remember how Oliver came back from the boat wreckage. He was living on a goddamn island. Besides, I’m from Gotham, weird shit happens there, and it’s not the first time something like this happens. Once they know where i’m from there gonna be like, ‘that makes sense’.”

“Is that what you truly what Jason? The media will be ruthless and hound you like there is no tomorrow. They will not respect your privacy and make terrible assumptions. You died in the middle east.”

     Without a doubt Jason already had his heart set. He would take the interrogations, the endless questions, the skepticism and there stares. After, all he was used to it, that is one more thing Bruce had trained him in.

“Yes. I want to be alive and not declared dead by the government. I can’t keep living like this Roy, it’s not healthy. If Bruce has to answer uncomfortable questions, then so be it. I will not have to hide myself anymore. Martha can not live like I have.”

     Roy saw the desperation in his eyes, after all he knew that your life changed when you brought kids into their lifestyle. Roy had Lian in his life now.  
Vigilantism was not a place to rise kids, in or near, it had already claimed Jason’s life...and Martha’s, but Roy didn’t know the last part yet.

     They stayed like that in the room, Roy a silent support for now. A rare thing for the ginger man. Jason decided he liked the quiet silence. After all this would be the last time he would experience any peace in a long time to come. A shit storm was brewing and the first part was to come in the form of police officers and a nurse.

     They came in the late afternoon, at 12:40 to be precise, in his room without knocking, demanding answers for his wounds and his use of a dead man’s social security and name.

     By the end of the night, the FBI was involved and a new case was being formed for the abandoning and kidnapping of the boy who claimed to be Jason Peter Wayne. Son of Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, a young boy that was left on foreign soil when he was fourteen years old. A storm was brewing and it was only gaining power as the days past, soon the world would know who Jason was all over again. His story would make headlines, Bruce Wayne and his family would once again be put under extreme scrutiny.

     Roy left soon after to take care of some things on Jason’s behave. No loose ends could be found, there story depending on it.


	3. Bogeymen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, Jason would not notice any of this until they moved locations. The splash of the water soon faded away into the background. The boy only realized how different Bruce was acting, how odd the situation was. He only looked up to properly take a look when the lady started speaking. And everything she said went over his head, because the man holding him was NOT his dad. The man holding him resembled the portrait that was hung up on the wall in Wayne manor.  
> Thomas Wayne blue eyes stared kindly down at him, next to him Martha Wayne carried Sparky at her hip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, I had this chapter written out, in my journal. my computer was old and I was having difficulties with it. I could have typed this chapter out sooner but ive been busy with work. And I got a new laptop so, this one works much better now. hope you all like it.  
> When its bold and itilic, that means its the voices Jason hears. Example, “Run away from the Bogeymen .”, it just wont let me let me show up here in the notes. hope you like.  
> By the way Jasons dreaming, but this is what happened when he died.

June 07, Start of Investigation 

     The hospital that they were in was apparently in a small town where the hospital service was lacking, too many ill people and poorly staffed, this all added up to a terrible hospital experience. The morning came and went and still Jason was not taken to get his MRI. The police still lingered after taking his statement. Morning came but no nurse was present to escort him to his MRI appointment It was understandable considering that he was being interrogated by the police. By the time it hit 2:30 pm Jason was forced to call his attending nurse. It was during this time that Jason finally started to notice the throbbing pain in his right eye. 

     He cold feel the blood rushing to that spot so intensely it was hard to notice anything else. The skin around it was inflamed and touching it only caused further pain.

     The door opened and in came a different nurse from Gina. A middle aged man that introduced himself as Gilbert, and stated that he would be his day nurse for the time. 

     “Sir when will I be taken to get my MRI taken, the previous nurse said by morning but it’s 3:41 now.”

     Gilbert had a thoughtful look on his face and then that look turned into a concern. “Mr. Wayne is your eye hurting you right now?”

     The teenager gave a nod, the intensity of the pain had increased during the waiting time for Gilbert. Jason could no longer concentrate on what Gilbert was speaking about. The words had suddenly become hard to understand and to disappear, like a foreign language he was being forced to study and observe. Only snippets of words were caught after that, the pain sword through the roof, as it crashed agents him in waves, further assaulted the battered body.

     “Mr. Wayne are you in pain! Mr. Wayne ...understa..me..CODE BLUE in room 20.. in the pediatric ward...non-responsive..doctor needed…”

 The room spun, the Earth was tilted on its axis, and the last thing to register was the blood on his fingers as Jason removed his hand from his face. Exhaustion took over his body and consumed the vessel. The only upside to all this was being in a hospital where it was safe to pass out, again.

~~~

    Even in his dreams there was no rest from the nightmares of life that consumed his every day of every hour. This dream was no exception and it was just as unpleasant like the rest of them. 

    He ran from the shadows that wanted to drag him under the rivers damming water. With every step Jason took his feet sunk to the bottom of the rivers freezing water. Lost and disoriented the fog surrounded the landscape, closing in oh him. 

    Jason did not know what was going on. Waking up in the middle of a tiny island floating in the middle of nowhere was never a good thing. Weeds sprinkled around the dirt, a strong and sturdy doc that ended in the water. Fog constricted the view but it did not stop the lights from appearing. They came to as fast as a couple of blinks, more and more lights appeared before his person. They kept coming closer and closer to the island and a sinking feeling started to stir in the pit of his stomach. 

 **** **_“Run away from the Bogeymen .”_ **

    The voices that always whispered important facts to him all of a sudden united as one. It was like a person had whispered into his ear.  

     Jason might have not listen to it the first time around when the voices yelled at him-- **_“DO NOT TRUST HER. Lies. YOU ARE WALKING INTO DEATH!”_ **Jason should have known, he should have trusted those voices. He was dead. Killed by his own mother. A few drops of tears dared to flow but Jason refused to let any more spill. If he kept crying a breakdown would be inedible. So he ran. Jason would never make the mistake of ignoring the whispers ever again.   

     A shriek left him when his bare foot hit a large boulder under the surface. Water flooded his lungs and he started to drown. Not enough air filled his lungs, the water had gone in. The cold water numbed his feet first but the pain from hitting his feet hurt. Body numb he started sinking in, drowning, his eyes adjusted to the murky, tainted water. A scream left him, ushering more water in, taking out with little air he has. His whole body was sinking down, even though a few moments ago it only reached his knees. 

     Decomposing bodies littered the ground, a great deal of them had their flesh stripped off. A few had chunks of meat hanging by a thread. His vision blurred, Jason didn’t want to become a forgotten pile of bones that was left to rot in his hell. A pile of bones to be tripped on for the next fool that crosses this river.

     Sharp teeth hooked on to his soaking shirt and pulled upwards. He choked again when air was reintroduced to his body. A furry body pressed against him, a wet tongue licked his face. If his heart was still beating, Jason would be in danger of stopping with all these scares. 

     A bark was left out by the mutt sitting next to him. Jason might not have heard that sound in a long time, but he could still recognize it. Heaving up the water from his lungs left Jason fragile. Too weak to speak, he could only cling to his dead dog. Dead. They were both dead in some unknown place that could kill them. Maybe, for could you die again if you were already dead?

     “Sparky is that you?” her body pressed against him in acknowledgement. 

     Jason wasn't alone anymore and for that he was grateful. His arms wrapped around her small body. Time seemed to pass unknowingly to the 14 year old boy as he took comfort in her persons. Jason had no clue as to how much time passed while he passed while running around the water. The sun hasn't appeared at all, and he had a feeling that it never would. 

     Taking a good look around them place made him feel more confounded. The water was still, only the rocks protruded. The forgotten bodies only visible when one went under. Even the color of the water was foul, a dark oil tint to it, beautiful to see the rainbow colors reflected if the sun where to shine on it. Then Jason took the time to study her. She was as he remembered. Sparky's short, brown coat was warm against his hands. She lacked the bald spots and gray hair of old age. 

      Too distracted with watching her and the surroundings, Jason didn’t note the way Sparky became alert. Like so many times she had when they hid beneath the kitchen table; when dad and mom’s arguments escalated to terrifying degrees.

      A growl snapped him back to attention. It was uncanny of her to do so. Sparky learned early on not to growl or bark, not even during the physical fights his parents go into. A forbidding feeling started to cli9ng to his soul. 

      It seemed he forgotten other dangers lurked out in the water. Shadowy figures emerged from the foggy mist. Blobs made up of gooey mass, figures that hardly resemble human beings began drifting closer to the boy.

     Sparky’s whole body tensed and a series of barks left her mouth. The boy in the river, whose mass was as large as an ocean, was overcome with fear. His small body froze before instincts that where homed in throughout the years took over. 

     Jason with one hand grasped Sparky's middle and took off. She soon starts twisting uncontrollably and Jason lets her go. Paws hit the water but they don’t sink in. They stop and that's only because Sparky keeps looking around in all directions. Her brown eyes stare up at him before she takes off in a random direction. 

     “Wait Sparky don't go without me!” Jason could not help but shout after her. 

     The boy runs after her, too agitated at the thought of being left behind. Both dog and boy run in a series of erratic directions. The kid only comes to the conclusion is that Sparky somehow knows the way out of this god forsaken ocean they were in.  

     After repeatedly stopping, in order for Sparky to look around and change direction they came upon a different scenery. The water finally met solid ground. Before them stud to grown figures, far off into the distance. There shape humanoid, lacking the deformations of the Bogeymen. Jason stopped in his tracks. Sparky on the other hand ran straight to them., 

     “Stop!” He reached for her but it was too late. He started to follow her all Jason could do was look on in worry. 

     The boy wanted to follow, but all that he could think of were those miss-shaped human blobs. The possibility of the figures ahead being those things is what rooted him in place. Luck was on their side, Jason had not caught hide of them as of yet. In due time, the boy would come to know the reason was thanks to Sparky, an animal guide who lead him to safety.

     Contemplating, the boy was still between stuck on whether to follow or stay. His decision would soon be made up. The fog started to role in, more heavy than the surrounding one. An ill-fated omen when those blobs started to emerge from the fog. 

     Vast in number they where. More of them then when Jason first saw them. It was really a no brainer in the end. Water splashed when he started running towards land. Away from the terrifying figures, hopefully soon Jason would be safe. 

     What ever power was keeping his body up on the water gave out. His legs sunk into the ocean, going all the way to his knees. Running became harder, the teenager started to lag behind. The creatures following behind took advantage, and they too soon caught up. 

     He’s close to the shore now, could practically see the grains texture of the beach up ahead. _‘Once I'm out of the water I’ll be safe’_ It was a sentence the teenager kept chanting in his mind. 

     A scattered bone or larger than normal rock impeded his chanting. Once again Jason crashed down towards the water. Only this time he wasn’t submerged into the revolting water. Too shallow to drown, but the water clung to his clothing, adding extra weight to his frame. It pulled him back, clung to his body, unwilling to let him escape. 

     The unholy beings descended upon him as he crawled to the edge. His hands felt sand, but the majority of his body was still in the river. A misshapen hand with too many finger graved his leg. A searing pain shot up through his body. HIs nerves seemed to be lit with flames. A cry escaped his parted lips, tears flowed down his cheeks. 

     Barks started sounded nearby, loud from Sparky and a woman screaming. Jason could not bare to look back at that hand pulling him back in. The burn of the hand scaring his very soul. So instead he locked forward.

     It might have been delirium that was brought on by all these terrible events. Getting beaten by the Joker and being blown up to death. In all that time Jason only wanted his dad to come rescue him. To have Bruce, the kind father that put him first, not Batman the cold uncaring man who put the mission above everything. Jason only wanted his dad back, before the persona of Batman came and corrupted the being that was his father. Before their relationship took a turn for the worst, and the boy wondered if Bruce regretted adopting him. If he was going to be returned back to the streets or to the orphanage.

     “Dad!” A scream erupted from his chapped lips as the hands pulled him further back. 

     Is this the reason why all those bones are at the bottom of the water? Did these monsters drown all the people who came before him? Was he too going to end up like them? Lost and forgotten in the depths of the murky water. 

     Bruce stood tall and proud above him an the sandy beach edge. A woman with brown hair was nearby. She was holding back Sparky. Her barking had become excessive and frenzied. 

     “Bruce!”

     That seemed to snap Bruce out of his stupor. Bruce ran towards Jason, taking him by the shoulders and pulling him away from the monsters. It was a struggle, a literal tug of war, but a child in this case was the object that was being pulled apart. 

     Legs and arms pulled too far apart, they became dislocated from their sockets. Bruce pulled and was soon joined by the woman. Together they pulled until Jason painfully smashed into the couple. They all soured, crashing into the sand, elbows knowing into flesh and causing bruises.

     “Dad.” The teenager said with a shortness of breath. Jason was finally out of the water. He was safe from those monsters. Every part of his body hurt, from where the monsters gripped his legs to the joints of his limbs. 

     Bruce pulled him into his arms and hushed him. Jason could only sob silently into the mans dress shirt. 

     “Thomas get the boy up. Those things haven’t left yet.”

     “Don’t look Sport.”

     A hand was placed behind his head, stopping Jason from looking at the strange water. Jason could not help but feel unnerved. The teenager could feel eyes staring at his back. So overcome with emotion, Jason failed to notice the voice he was hearing was off. The man holding him felt wrong, he lacked the muscle mass that Bruce had.

     “Get the dog Martha.”

     No, Jason would not notice any of this until they moved locations. The splash of the water soon faded away into the background. The boy only realized how different Bruce was acting, how odd the situation was. He only looked up to properly take a look when the lady started speaking. And everything she said went over his head, because the man holding him was NOT his dad. The man holding him resembled the portrait that was hung up on the wall in Wayne manor. 

     Thomas Wayne blue eyes stared kindly down at him, next to him Martha Wayne carried Sparky at her hip. 

**_'"Everything’s going to be Ok."_**

 


	4. A Turning Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, well we finally meet baby martha, Bruce is in here but for a short time, well see him later on. Roy will be coming back soon as well as the batfam. I was taking my time and pulling my hair out because I messed up on some things when it came to police investigations. Then I was like, 'its just a story, it doesn't have to be that accurate. So here's that chapter, its probably gonna be a long time for me to update since school has already started. Excuses my spelling mistakes.

June 9

  
_“Your Bruce’s son!”_

  
_“My grandbaby!”_

  
Jason could hear the excitement in the Martha’s voice, and the shock in Thomas. It might have been with the fact that Jason was too young to be in this place, and not living alongside his father.

  
The memory started to get distorted and soon he was waking up groggy, with a awful, numbing pain in his right eye. His vision blurred with only his left eye opening, the other was too swollen to open.

  
Jason was disorientated, for the moment he had no idea whether he was going up or down. It took him a while to figure out he was at-- the hospital. It took him even longer to figure out where the pager was. All his remaining energy was used to call the nurse. Roy was still away taking care of things for him, the application for Martha’s birth certificate still lay blank.

  
Jason was exhausted, but he took the papers and began to work through the information.

  
**‘Father’s information’**

  
Jason could only look on, it unsettled him, not knowing who it was. He always knew a tit bit of information regardless. It would always whisper these things to him. But now his mind was numb, blank. The teenager skipped it, it wouldn’t be needed. Martha might have been a product of a drunken fumble. But he would never let her now that she was an accident. He would spout loving nonsense about her being planed and wanted. Because in the end Jason wanted her, it was more than enough for him to follow the ritual. Jason didn’t now the consequences, but he could worry about that later. When this shit storm passes.

  
Gina walked in through the door, Jason was puzzled, wasn’t that other nurse attending him a second ago.

  
“Mr. Wayne I’m so glad your awake, you gave us quite a scare when you passed out. The doctor will be coming along later to look at your eye. In the previous examination it was filed to notice that your eye was cut. An infection set in and right now your on antibiotics.” She had to repeat it to him, he could not concentrate, the pain medication was making him drowsy.

  
“Can I see my daughter?”

  
“Yes, we can bring her in right away.”

  
Jason handed her the paper work, when she started talking again. “There’s one more thing we have to tell you Mr. Wayne, you been out for a day. Your body is fighting an infection.  During that time some police officers came and needed to take a blood sample, of course that was not allowed. They been waiting outside for some time and need your consent to take a blood sample. If its OK with you a registered nurse will be with you while the officers are present. They need to be there to make sure its you who the sample belongs to.”

  
He went along with it, Jason just wanted to get it done with, Martha was waiting for him. A whole day had passed him by and he was out cold.

  
The two officers came, a nurse as well, the only thing he wasn’t expecting was a video camera to record the whole process. It was standard process, the two officers said. Jason had avoided pictures and recordings of him long since he died. He had always hated the tabloids that took pictures of him, but Bruce always had them taken down. The media soon learned not to use any pictures of him, Jason guessed that lesson would be forgotten one the press caught wind of him being alive.

  
The nurse came in, had him sign some paper work, explained some things to him before the blood was withdrawn. The officers came along with one of their experts to record the process.

  
One of the officers turned and asked, “Have your wounds been documented by the previous officers?”

  
“No.” He shook his head but immediacy stopped when it began to further hurt his swollen eye.

  
“I’m glad I asked since we need to catalog the wounds, they can be presented in court later.”

  
Jason cooperated, he just wanted to see Martha, it had literally been a day since he had seen her.

  
“Mr. Wayne, the FBI has sent word to the local police force in Gotham for the arrest of Bruce Wayne. He will be in custody soon, but with his standing your father will be posting bail. He will be black listed in the flights in order to prevent him from leaving the country.”

  
“Thank you officers.”

  
Gina showed them out soon afterwards, once the photographer had brought in his extra equipment from the car. Every little wound was photographed, even his swollen, disfigured face. He was left feeling so alone, Jason hoped this was the right chose. Because ~~his family~~ , _no those people_ , would be under more scrutiny then the last time he died.

  
In the back of his head, the voices started whispering again, his mind finally breathing reassurances to him.

  
_**“The court of law will be in your favor, as well as the Judge.”** _

  
_**“You will win this war boy.”** _

~~~  
Bruce Wayne was in a somber mood. The sun was high on the horizon, the ray’s came through the windows in Bruce’s office on the top floor of Wayne Enterprise. It came in too bright for the man, illuminating the dark circles under his eyes and the bruised knuckles on his hands. The padding in his gloves had protected Bruce, or the skin would be bleeding.

  
The anger had faded early on, once Bruce had the time to cool down. It was only after that he truly realized the implications of his actions. Bruce was lost, he had not felt such anger in a long time. Jason had shot Oswald Cobblepot, on live television. Bruce, no Batman could not stand for it, only later would Bruce realized he had taken it too far.

  
The sting could still be felt, even if had been three days after he had…beat up his kid. God, Bruce had beat Jason. A sharp intake of breath came then, the realization was too much. The man had never let himself go so far, Alfred had been furious. His remaining children where avoiding of him, when he came covered in blood and still on edge.  
After the rage had left him, his search for Jason and Roy had turned into something else. Instead of dragging Jason back to face the consequences, it changed to one of concern. Bruce needed to know how bad the damage was. If his son was OK.

  
Bruce had lost their trial two stated ago, leaving him to just stare the screen down at the cave.

The guilty man stayed down there for almost a day before retreating to the sanctuary of his room. It still brought him no peace. Bruce could feel the tension he had created inside his own house. He left for work when it became too much for him.

  
The stares unnerved him, he could feel them as he walked in, Bruce felt like the people knew what he had done. ‘It’s all in your mind, they aren't not staring at you. Your only imagining it.’ His mind repeated as he walked towards his office on the top floor. Bruce had his own private elevator, but it didn’t save him from the initial stares once he got on and off it.

  
He stared out the window, just for the sake of it. Bruce didn’t have any meetings scheduled today. People left and came going on about there day, and he wondered how many of them had a family waiting at home. If any of them where expecting the same situation as him. Provably not to the degree he was. Maybe that dot crossing the street had four wonderful sons and one beautiful daughter like him. Perhaps the man had never raised his fist in anger towards any of them? Could that dot following the first had a son as difficult as Jason.

  
Bruce was good at observing, when the flow of people completely stopped Bruce’s hair stud on end. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  
A multitude of black vehicles descended on the empty road and stopping. People started exiting and descending upon his building—Wayne Enterprise.

  
Bruce immediately went on the defensive mode. He hit the alarm button on his desk. Immediately the alarms sounded for an intruder. The police would be notified immediately, his security team would be on it and the place was going into lock down. No one would get in or out. Not until Bruce figured out who was storming into his building. In his current mood, Bruce was not playing around.

  
~~~  
They rolled her in on a incubator, connected with too many wires that made his heart ache. She was too young for all of this.

  
“Mr. Wayne it would be for the best if she stays inside the incubator. She’s having a hard time regulating her temperature and we want her to stay in there. You can touch her but its best if she stays inside.”

  
The smile disappeared from his swollen face, his only good hand that wasn’t fractured reached out for her. Her small hand dwarfed by his. It brought a smile to his face, the teenager did not pay attention to the pain smiling caused him. Jason was too distracted by the warmth he felt running his fingers through his baby girl’s skin. Going over smooth skin and wires, he counted all ten fingers and ten toes.

  
He marveled at the tiny size of them, of her and the frailty of her sheer size. Jason marveled at how perfect she was. His eyes became glossy with tears. He would do anything for her, for his little girl. Jason would have too protected her from the world.

  
The two where left to the privacy of there room, a father enjoying his time with his newborn daughter. Not everyone was inclined in respecting the privacy of the new family.  
Gilbert had taken the opportunity to snap photos once the police officers took a break. The blinds let one see into the room where open to better help nurses and officers keep a close eye on this madman.

  
A Wayne, the dead son of a rich man. His word against Bruce Wayne would mean nothing if Roy Harper hadn’t given his testimony. Another rich brat, Gilbert had heard the rumors of his drug use. Only drifters with ‘bad habits’ came through this town in the middle of nowhere in Virginia.

  
His phone silently took the photos he needed before leaving the hospital. The middle aged man had already contacted the tabloids in the adjacent city. Soon the man would have some spare change.

  
As the male nurse left, glowing green eyes stared after him. Gilbert could feel eyes staring strait at him, but that was impossible—no one had seen him. The boy was too preoccupied to pay attention to his surrounding.

  
The man walked faster, he did not like the feeling he was getting. Jason only started harder as the man walked away. It was OK, this would help the news spread faster.

  
~~  
It had taken less than an hour for Bruce to get to the bottom of this mess. After shutting himself into his office, the man accessed his security cameras in order to view the men storming his company. Or trying to storm into it. He could see the men trying to open the doors but to no avail. The doors where shut down, only a missile could take them down or the button currently on his desk.

  
It was the call that Bruce received that changed everything.

  
“Master Bruce are you all right? The police and FBI are here at the house. There looking for you. ” It was the first thing he heard. As far as Bruce knew no one out side of the family was aware of his night time activities. The question here was, why where the police getting involved?

  
“Bruce, they brought up Master Jason..,” Alfred trailed off.

  
The man went cold. Did Jason.. did Jason divulge Batman’s identity? Was this retaliation for what Bruce had done to his son? He had brought up the boy better than this. This was low even for Jason. Would he drag his family down with him.

  
“… Master Bruce are you listening? These men think you abandon Jason in Ethiopia. There is a man claiming to be your dead son, accusing you of attacking him, quite recently sir.”

  
The tension Bruce carried was not alleviated, it only grew, crushing him with the unbearable weight. A nightmare, a living nightmare. He had an idea of why this was happening, Jason was seeking revenge. The man was only surprised at the notion of his civilian identity being targeted.

  
“Bruce!” The tone of voice was so off on Alfred.

  
“The police wants you to surrender..”

  
“Is that Bruce Wayne on the line?”

  
The gentlemen was cut off abruptly by a rough voice. The phone had been taken from Alfred.

  
“I am Officer Davidson from the FBI. Bruce, you need to let your employees go and surrender yourself to the force outside. Do not make it worse for yourself, let the people go.”

  
Bruce never intended for his employees to be hostages. He had only reacted to intruders trying to storm in.

  
“I do not know what’s going on. Why are you in my house and why are you trying to invade my company?”

  
Bruce only has half the cards, he needs to know what Jason was doing. Why involve the outside agencies? For revenge? Will Jason drag his family down into this mess they had created?

  
“They aren't hostages, Officer Davidson, I only took an appropriate action when I saw unknown identities storing into the building. I will release them now.”

  
The lines went silent, maybe the officer hadn’t expected Bruce to be so cooperative. Bruce would go along with this charade Jason strung up, he will find out what that boy was plotting.

  
He hung up on the man, before any more words could be passed. Opening up a secret compartment on the wall, he carefully phones Barbara. His words where short and precise, he would need all the back up he could get. His civilian persona had been dragged into his night work life. The officers started to scurry in, disappearing into the entrance once the button was pressed.

  
~~~  
Jason had difficulty breathing, his fractured ribs made it difficult. The headache became unbearable and was ruining his time with Martha. When dark spots began to appear he was forced to call for one of the nurses. By the time she came his time with baby was over, she had to be catered off for her examinations.

  
It was late into the night, the clock had already stuck 12, and Jason was …tired. It made no sense, he had already fallen asleep. The blue haze of the TV screen his room, causing shadows to form. He kept flipping through the channels looking for the right one. The oxygen mask made it easier to breath, the machine beeped in the background as the TV noise filled the room.

  
He stopped at one channel, the woman started to report her findings Wayne Enterprise.

  
“The hostages at Wayne Enterprise were evacuated, Bruce Wayne willingly gave himself up to police two hours after this ordeal began.”

  
The screen zoomed in on Bruce as two officers escorted him into a police cruiser. His shirt was rumpled, like he had gotten into a scuffle.

  
The teenager blinked, heavy with sleep he muted the TV only reading the captions. He blinked again, only to see shadows coming into the room from the bottom of the door. Sleep was getting to him, his body fighting off the infection in his right eye. Blinking, the two shadows had finally gotten in, they plastered themselves along the walls.

  
His head slumped on his shoulder, he could see the cruiser driving off as the masses of people lingered on the sidelines. The two humanoid beings crept closer to him, he could see them from the corner of his eye.

  
By this point Jason could barely keep his eyes open, the medication finally kicked in. By this point his eyes wouldn’t stay open. Jason feel asleep with the shadows slowly moving closer to his bed.

  
He dreamed of his death, and his afterlife as _they_ stared down at him.


	5. Fear i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shup up boy! Only crazy people be talk to themselves. Are you a lunatic boy, do I got to stick you in Arkham Asylum now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im tired, i just wanted to post this up. If you see any mistakes just point them out. I hope you all like this. :-)

June 10

When he dreamed, Jason had to try his hardest to remember the dreamed. A joyful dream, an odd one, one full of horror, but in the end it always slipped though his fingers like water. There was not much he could recall.

Except, the teen could now almost recall them, as if they had been part of his memories he had long ago buried.

_Jason was tiny again. Standing at 4 feet and 6 inches again. He hovered over the coffee table while his grandparents got ready to leave. Jason was finished long ago. Now he only waited. He pulled on the shorts of his sailor suit to adjust them. Martha had driven a hard bargain. 'Where the cute sailor suit and your grandpa and I will take you out to eat pizza and hotdogs'. So he did._

_Now Jason donned the suit along with the captain hat Martha promised his own dad wore. Jason never did believe her until she took the pictures out. He could still picture the child size Bruce smiling into the camera. He had looked so carefree; the happiest Jason ever seen him._

_“Grandma, I’m ready!” Picking up the handle of the vintage rotary dial telephone he stopped. Jason had wanted to call the place, to reserve their table. Except he did not know how to work the round dial pad. A tall man walked up next to him._

_“Oh champ that’s not how you work that.” A smile was plastered over the older mans face. It had been a long time since they gone out as a family. Taking the handle from Jason, Thomas started showing him how to place a call._

_“See here, you have to choose the number and bring it all the way to this metal bit right here. Then you let it go until the pad goes back to the way it was.”_

_“Let me try!” They had just finished the call, when Martha came down the stares caching them by surprise with a flash of a camera._

_“That's my boys. I couldn’t resist myself.” She fanned the picture that came out of the polaroid camera._

_“Lets go eat. I’m ravenous.” She smiled warmly at Jason, light shining in her eyes with joy. He followed both of his grandparents out the door. Today will be a good day, just like every other day for Jason. Now that he was in heaven with people that cared and loved him._

The door opened, light streamed in through the window. The teen cringed, shielding his good eye form the bright source of light.

“Mr. Wayne, it's time you get up and walk around.” Gilbert came in, dressed in his scrubs and acting like he never violated any laws whatsoever. Jason chose not to call the man out. He gave it a day before that trashy news station put the info of Bruce’s dead son out in the air. Another day before a major station decided to look into it. And perhaps less than a week before the police decided to comment on the matter.

“I can’t walk.” He deadpan. It was the truth. His legs were pin and needles, they barely registered in his brain. So the man probably had a point.

“Well you need to try.”

It began like that. Jason struggling not to pass out from the force of holding himself up. His hands trembled with the effort of sustaining his body upwards. His legs trembled and almost gave out. To engrossed with the pain coursing through out him, the boy did not register the laud loudspeaker calling for all available nurses.

Just like that, he was left alone to recover form the his ordeal. His breathing had only started going back to normal when the door slammed open.

“DEMON! GOD MADE A MISTAKE WHEN HE MADE YOU!”

A middle aged women, ran into his room. Her unsteady, eyes looked straight though him. Not completely registering him at all.

“WHY DON’T YOU ANSWER FOR THE PAIN YOU CAUSED OTHER PEOPLE. I CAN HEAR THEM SCREAM!” She struggled to get to him. The table holding his food separated them. A meaty fist clamped on his hospital gown. Pulling him forwards and causing his body to ache painfully. His broken ribs scraped against each other.

Her voice was down to a whisper now. “Confess, confess demon boy. God made you wrong. I know you can hear the good people talking.” Spit flew every time she opened her mouth coating his face. Footsteps, heavy boots stomped echoed in the room. The two police officers that guarded him pulled her off. Shoving her out the room, while a nurse looked him over.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Wayne! She not in her right mind. She got loose form the psychiatric ward.”

They left him alone after pumping him full of medicine. Jason was having a mental breakdown. The mentally ill had never been treated with much respect in Gotham. Tears started streaming from both of his eyes. The boy never liked to think about it. When he was younger and up to this point time, Jason had always feared that people would find out of the voices he could hear. It was not normal.

_He knew it only after Willis screamed in his face._

_“Shup up boy! Only crazy people be talk to themselves. Are you a lunatic boy, do I got to stick you in Arkham Asylum now?_

_He pushed the six year old to the floor. Before he feel over in his drunken stupor. Jason had an inkling that he wasn't normal. The six year old had attributed it to falling asleep in the closet for a month. The bad event of last years._

_Jason had been hiding form his parents when he felt a sharp object pierce his skin. The little boy was to scared to remove it. He was too scared to make a noise. Willis had gotten home drunk and angry. His face spotted new bruises as yelling continued form the kitchen._

_Jason stayed quit. In fact, he never uttered a word for a month. The five year old had overdosed with one of his mom’s dirty needles; the ones she threw in the closet. The young boy wasn’t aware that he had died, only that when he woke up, he could hear people. They where always helpful , they helped him find food and shelter when things got violent at home._

_It would be years down the road, after his fatal encounter with the clown, that Jason would realize it._

_An uncontrollable sadness had befallen him. With tears in his eyes, the teen had realized Willis and his maybe-mom never knew he died. His corpse lay forgotten in the closet. His parents too consumed with their drugs to notice a child, there own child  lay dead._

_Jason tried to forget. Because in the end, Jason had died scared and alone with no one to save him._

That fear of rejection from society is what kept his mouth shut. If Bruce had found out his secret, Jason knows Bruce would ship him off to Arkham. It terrified him.

~~

June 11

Sweet ran down her face, it landed in her eye. It irritated her, causing Barbara to finally relent and give in. She needed a break. Bruce had called and informed her of the situation. Her task was to find Jason, or locate Roy and extract his whereabouts. Except she unable to. The men’s trail had gone cold. No surveillance or reports of them anywhere.

“That hurts.” She rubbed her eye, before rolling herself to the living room. “It’s a nightmare. All of this is a nightmare, and I just want to wake up.”

The red head needed a distraction from the disasters situation. A little TV never hurt anyone. She got stuck switching through the channels unable to find a good station.

_Ring Ring Ring_

Barbara just stared at her phone. For the last few days, hardly anyone called her with good news.

“Dick you better make this good. It’s 6 am and way past your bedtime.”

“Go to channel 67, now!” Goosebumps started forming on her arms. Like she had stepped into a freezer. “What happened Dick? Is it about Bru-“

“Alfred contacted us, about Bruce already.” Barbara had forgotten to let the boys know, but it would be hard to miss with Bruce’s face plastered on every news outlet.

“I’m on the channel, why this one? It’s just the most trashiest news out-“

Her mouth fell open, she just fell weak in that very moment. “Oh my god.” Her phone dropped to the floor with a clatter. She could hear Dick talking on the other end, but failed to register his words. Barbara was to distracted with the pictures flashing through the TV. It was Jason..and Jason was hurt.

“-a baby, he has a baby.’” Dick’s voice sounded out, through the laud speaker, the button must have been pressed while it fell down.

Oh, Dick was right. It was a little baby, and it belonged to Jason.  


	6. Fear ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Everything went alright. The man who owned the funeral company ended up passing some time ago. There was a record of your grave getting robbed some time before you got up and started walking around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me some time to get this chapter out. i really like how it turned out. i hope you all do to.

June 11

                The broth was tasteless. Big droplets cascaded down the spoon and into the bowel. The splashing only distracted him for a relatively long time. He was mesmerized by the sound it made and the way it rippled the surface. The surrounding noise was only background, a haze fogged up his mind. Sleep had brought forth no rest. His dreams where full of nightmares, to the point where Jason awoke in cold sweat. Martha had stayed dead, and Jason really wished his mind would not torment him like this.

                He took a sip but left his lunch as it was. Jason wondered if he could ask for salt.

**_“Roy’s finished with his job.”_ **

~~~

                Alfred had come to pick up Bruce before he was exposed to the news. There on the TV, played one of the shoddiest new, was Jason beaten black and blue. His boy was obscured by the window blinds, but the quality was enough for him to make out his grandson... and great-grandson. His hard stopped for a moment, missed a few beats when he put two and two together.

                The old man griped his chest and took a seat by the outside of the waiting room. The paperwork was getting sorted out and Bruce would be ready in a few minutes. Alfred still tried to comprehend the tiny baby in the picture.

                It was getting harder to breath.

~~~

                Roy in all his splendor arrived late. The grin on his face the only indication that everything went right for the man.

“Wow man. You look like shit.”

                He unloaded the shopping bags on the couch build on the wall. Roy took in all the new dressing around his face.

“Everything went alright. The man who owned the funeral company ended up passing some time ago. There was a record of your grave getting robbed some time before you got up and started walking around.”

                The red head started saying before grabbed an item from the shopping bag. He was about to throw it at Jason before thinking better about it.

“Got you a phone Jay. The last one got shattered to pieces.”

                He took two subway bags out, before arranging them on the tiny portable table. Cleaning out the mess on the table, removing the disgusting broth and the jello he was given.

“Got you a the sub of the day. I know how shitty the food can be here.”

                Roy took a big bite. The younger man made a face as the condiments dripped down Roy’s face. He felt a disgusted by the sight.

“It turned out that Bruce had already had a contract signed. It stating that your reminds where to be cremated if a robbery was attempted.”

“Clearly that never happened.” He unwrapped the sub before the smell of meat overpowered his senses. He put the sandwich back, Jason wasn’t hungry.  

“Gomez tried to reach Bruce, but the man never pick up the phone. He wanted to inform him before proceeding with the cremation. He already had the go ahead from the big man himself, he was just doing the sensible thing and informing the father. I faked Gomez's signature and the paperwork for the cremation process. As of now, Jason Todd’s ashes are still sitting in inventory.”

                And if he wasn’t already hallow out, that would have gutted Jason. It made him resent Bruce that much more. The man wouldn’t even pick up the phone for his rotting body. This had all been a terrible week…No it had been months,  even years where life had just sucked. Right now there was no distraction for Jason. Nothing that let him get over the fact his life was a shitty mess.

                Griping the plastic container, Jason scrutinized it before dangling it right in front of Roy’s eyesight. “Can you open it Roy. As you can see, I only have one good hand at the moment.”

                The red head was a little upset over being disturbed, but obviously Jason must be bored to tears. Roy would too if he had to lay around all day with nothing to do.

                He had the phone out when commotion started outside of the room. Roy only saw nurses and security guards running out in the hallway from the window.

                “What the fuck is going on.”

                “Oh.” Jason knew it was that crazy lady again. “Must be that lady that’s been scaring people. Keeps screaming about the supernatural.”

                Roy was to interested in the racket going on. “I think I’m going to see what’s happening Jason. Be back in a few minutes.”

                The man’s presence was nice. Jason wasn’t as lonely as before. Reaching over for a air mask, Jason placed it over his mouth. A headache was starting to form. He almost dropped his phone when the voice called whispered to him.

“ ** _Alfred’s having a heart attack.”_**

                Jason had his phone out, calling 911 before the old man could kicked the bucket.

~~~

                Bruce dropped his bag of items on the floor. The police had taken away his things before putting him  in a tiny cell. They had kept all the other criminals away from Bruce. His eyes were only for Alfred who was touching his chest. Wayne knew the signs of a myocardial infraction. No one was paying the man any attention. The receptionist was too enthroned with her computer screen, and the headphones weren’t helping.  

                His bag. Yes his bag. Bruce had to call an ambulance.

“ _911\. What’s your emergency?”_

The unmistakable sound of sirens and its lights emerged in front of the building.

                “I need an ambulance, my dad’s having a heat attack.” Alfred was not his dad, yet the word felt right in his mouth.

_“Can I have the location please.”_

                The paramedics came through the door. Straight for Alfred.

“An ambulance is already here.”

                Bruce hung up. He needed to focus on the situation at hand. Alfred had no problems with his health before. Not of this magnitude and not with his heart. Something big must have set the man off. Bruce looked over the empty room. The only other individual was an older woman who had dozed off and was startled awake by the noise.  

                _“—is Bruce Wayne’s arrest connected to the appearance of this new man. A picture taken in a hospital somewhere in Virginia might be the answer.”_

                His eye’s came to the TV screen mounted on the wall. A picture of his son appeared over the shoulder of the news. Bruce understood now.

                _“Jason Todd died in Ethiopia, over three years ago. A witness at the hospital stated that the mysterious man was using Todd’s social security. If this report is true, the Wayne family will have numerous questions to answer. Such as where has Mr. Todd been for these past years. And who does the baby belong too.”_

                It was a blur. One moment Bruce was standing straight up and seeing his son on the TV. The next moment he had woken up on the floor with one of the paramedic standing over him.

                Bruce didn’t have it in him to struggle when he was lead inside the ambulance. Alfred was next to him on a gurney bed, as he sat on the passenger seat on the back of the ambulance. Bruce understood now. Alfred must have had a worse reaction than him. Bruce knew that that the older man was softer with Jason. They had a great relationship, one that didn’t fall apart like his did with his son.

                Bruce took his dad’s hand, felt the long, withered fingers as he did so. It had been quite some time since Bruce though of Alfred’s age. A man of 63 years old still putting up with all the stress that came with their night time jobs. The man had always been there for him, his presence a steady and comforting thing. Now, Bruce felt the threat of it slipping away.

                For the first time in a long while, Bruce needed to bring his family together. The family had to be together for this. By this point, other journalist would be looking into the report of Jason Todd. They all needed to be ready. Bruce had to be held responsible for his actions. He never intended to hurt Jason like this.


End file.
